Survival of the Fittest
by fanfic1892
Summary: McPriceley AU: All Kevin Price wanted a little experience before he started pursuing his career as a director. So when he takes the very first opportunity that comes his way he finds himself surrounded by an... interesting group of people. A douchey celebrity survival guide, a crazy crew of camera men, and a motherly auburn haired boy who Kevin can't help but be drawn to.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, This is my first Book of Mormon fanfic and to be honest, I'm really not in the fandom. I'm just writing this for a friend who is ALWAYS complaining about the lack of McPriceley and I felt like I should publish it. So enjoy.**

Kevin Price shouldered his heavy backpack and leaned down to pick up his camera equipment out of the dusty dirt and load it onto the dirty, grey Jeep. Today was the second day on the site of his latest job as a cameraman on the new hit wilderness survival TV show _Bladez'ntheWylde. _He thought the program was kind of dumb, but it paid well and would be a great reference for future careers.

The show had recently been green lighted for its second season due to its smashing success earlier that year. The premise of the program wasn't very complex… or original… It centered on the "dashing and exotic Steven J. Blade" and covered his "perilous trek through the wildest places on planet Earth."

Kevin had been accepted as a camera man a few months prior, right after season two had been given the go ahead, when his uncle had come to him with the proposition of working on the show. Apparently, he knew a guy whose cousin had friends that worked in the reality TV business. According to him, one of the camera's had quit for some odd reason and they needed a replacement. Kevin was an aspiring director/producer and needed the experience so he readily agreed, knowing that opportunities like this didn't come around often.

And that was how he found himself sweating buckets in the middle of a Ugandan wasteland, lifting hundreds of pounds worth of expensive filming equipment onto a slightly used car in the hottest part of the summer.

From what the rest of the crew had told him, Steve Blade the _survival man_, would be arriving later that day via private jet. After his lowly crew did all of the legwork. As far as Kevin knew, a small party of two were scoping out Steve's route, another group of two were preparing supplies, and the rest, including Kevin, were making the film and sound tools mobile and ready to go.

Kevin finished loading the provisions and hopped up onto one of the other cars. They were all going to the meeting point where Mr. Blade, as the troop called him, would be flying in.

The ride wasn't half bad, but Kevin still thought he was going to die of tediousness. The African Savannah was only beautiful for the first hour or so and seeing as this was his second day on the plains, he was over the awesome and just wanted an internet café with air-conditioning. The scenery swiftly flew by until a tiny airstrip came into view and the Jeep slowed to a halt.

"Unload people!" James Church, the kind but punctual producer, called out to the rest of the crew. "Mr. Blade will be landing in an hour!"

The runway quickly became an inhabitable campsite as the small team worked as one, scurrying to set up tents and water stations for their boss' arrival.

Kevin found it a little odd that they were doing all of this for a _survival _show, but shook it off telling himself that he couldn't care less. He was getting pay and experience. That was all that mattered.

Around thirty minutes later, the scouting group drove into the camp. Now, the whole crew of one producer, four cameramen, and one makeup artist were present. After James called for them, they all gathered for a pow-wow around a dusty crate in the middle of their camp.

"Okay guys," Church started. "For those of you who have been with us last season, you know how it gets."

He was met with glum nods and Kevin started to think twice about having accepted his uncle's job opportunity. Was filming a reality TV show really that hard?

James continued. "Poptarts and Arnold," he looked at the chief tech expert/camera #1 (whose name wasn't actually Poptarts as Kevin had discovered yesterday. It was Thomas) and makeup artist with a calculating stare. "No funny business around Mr. Blade."

The two tried to look innocent but the others knew that they were tricksters at heart and James was just being wishful by trying to warn them off messing around.

"Schrader and Davis," he faced the camera #2 and #3 hands who both gave short nods.

"Keep them in check." He tilted his head towards the mischief makers.

"And Price?"

"Yeah?" Kevin perked up at his name.

"You'll do great. Just… don't let it get to you."

"Wait, what would get to m-"

He was cut off by a loud chopping roar and everyone looked up to see a sleek, four-seated private jet descending through the skies.

"You'll see" Arnold whispered, before he jumped up and went to a spot several yards from where the plane would stop next to Schrader and Poptarts that seemed to be his pre-sanctioned position.

Davis looked Kevin in the eye and pointed at a spot near where the plane would land before scuttling off to his station by the water cooler.

"Action people!" James yelled. He sprinted towards the plane as it coasted towards where Kevin had been directed. "Remember what I said!"

When the Jet had completely stopped, Church put on a joyful smile, gesturing for Kevin to do the same, and opened the door like a chauffeur.

"Good afternoon Mr. Blade." He cheerily greeted. "I hope you had a smooth and safe flight!"

A foot stepped out followed by a leg, followed by a body and soon enough Kevin was greeted with the handsome shaggy face of Steven Blade survival extraordinaire. James continued talking as he bustled around Mr. Blade making sure that every little detail was perfect.

"Kevin can take your luggage, and you must be thoroughly parched from your trip, Chris has some water over there…" he buzzed.

Mr. Blade nodded his head almost condescendingly at James as he gave off the steady stream of introductions and instructions until the producer looked back at the plane and seemed to notice something, or rather, someone.

"Mr. McKinley." He said with false enthusiasm. "We're so…glad you _decided_ to join us! We had no idea that Mr. Blade would be bringing you along"

Kevin turned his head and he saw another person hopping from the aircraft on his own before walking over towards Steve like a magnet had drawn him. The person was another man, this one slightly smaller, who had the grace of a dancer and a shock of auburn-orange hair nicely arranged on his head.

When he spoke, Kevin heard a soft sweet voice saying. "James! How many times do I have to say? Call me Connor. And yeah, Steve _insisted_ that I came with him to film the show."

Just from his looks and his voice, Kevin could tell that if James Church was the father of this film crew, the Connor McKinley would be the mother. He had those kind soft eyes, though their colors were an oddly sharp and icy blue, and his body looked awfully huggable to him.

He waved Kevin away when he offered to take his luggage with a simple, cheery _"I've got it."_

Connor was dressed way too stylishly and impractically for Uganda. His red shorts and blue polo would become drenched in sweat and other substances and his deck shoes would be ripped to shreds faster than Kevin could say '_damn that guy is kinda cute' _

It was clear that Connor felt the same way about his outfit as he was awkwardly tugging at the expensive fabric like he was trying to pull it off.

If he wasn't already certain about the relationship between the elegant red-head and his boss, Schrader affirmed his guess by leaning in and whispering. "Boyfriend." Into Kevin's ear.

Of course, Kevin knew who the man was. He wasn't much of a reality TV fan, but_ Bladez_ was pretty big and so was its star's personal life. He had heard all about the McBladely couple from magazine covers to TV interviews. But the "Mc" half of the couple was rarely in the public view.

It wasn't the way Connor dressed, talked, or even the way he looked at Steve that had given it away, it was the way he moved. Where Blade went, McKinley followed. It was like a puppy and his master. Kevin neutrally observed.

He kept up his observations until, Mr. Blade pulled his boyfriend's sleeve, whispered a few words into his ear, and took him into the tent that they had painstakingly erected that morning.


	2. Chapter 2

They hadn't even started really filming yet and Kevin already hated his new job with a fiery passion. The next morning, an ever cheery James had quietly gone tent to tent urgently whispering for everyone to get up. That would be fine by Kevin if it hadn't been at 5:30 AM.

He groaned tiredly, flipping on his stomach in disgust, but still slowly got up and threw on some plain and mobile clothes for the day. Still yawning, he headed out to regroup with the others but was delayed when he ran straight into another man who was right outside the entrance to his makeshift room. The man was holding a steaming cup of brown liquid and when Kevin hit him. The brew flew out of his hand and directly onto Kevin's shirt.

"Oh, my!" the guy said. Kevin immediately was able to place the sweet voice to Connor McKinley, the boyfriend of his boss. If the tone wasn't enough, the navy stripped shirt, matching sweater, and definitely non-athletic shorts were a dead giveaway.

"Oh God!" Connor fretted, frantically trying to wipe off the brown liquid from Kevin's shirt with his pale bare hands.

"I am sooo sorry." He continued.

"It's fine!" Kevin claimed, though he did think that there could be possible first degree burns on his chest. Connor kept rubbing. "No seriously." He insisted.

Connor didn't look so sure, but he removed his hands from Kevin's chest.

"I'll buy you a new one." He gestured to Kevin's shirt and was met with a laugh.

"This thing?" he scoffed. "Your haircut cost more than it. Don't bother."

Connor nervously laughed while running a hand through his mentioned hair before changing the topic. "You're Kevin right? Kevin Price?"

Impressed by McKinley's knowledge of him despite the fact that this was their first time speaking, Kevin nodded with widened eyes. Connor saw his confusion and quickly explained.

"James said it yesterday when we got here and I try and know everyone around here, it's useful to know people when you're stuck in the middle of nowhere."

Kevin smiled and Connor kept talking, giving Kevin the impression that he was on edge at the moment.

"I was actually just heading to introduce myself to you and give you this coffee." He said. "It's a little hard to come by in the middle of Uganda but Steve let me bring a water heater and some instant packs."

"That's nice…" Kevin was dragging his toe in the dirt awkwardly now. "Well… Thanks…"

"I don't really think you should be thanking me. I spilled a hot drink all over you."

"Yeah, well it's the thought that counts." Kevin grinned less awkwardly.

Connor was about to reply when Kevin heard a call from Arnold telling him to get his butt over here.

"I think that's for me." He apologized.

"Probably, Bye Kevin Price. Hopefully we'll talk again." Connor waved as the camera man ran over to his buddies leaving him alone with scuffed dirt and the early morning breeze for company.

"Nice talking to you…" he whispered, before trotting back to his tent and a sleeping Steve.

Kevin didn't get to speak with Connor again that day, but he saw him almost constantly. Throughout the filming, Connor was a shadow in the background. Always there when Steve was, but he never spoke unless spoken to. It was easy to tell that the crew all liked Connor McKinley a lot, but there wasn't much time for chatter.

As it turned out, _Bladez'ntheWylde _wasn't as _wild_ as it was made out to be. For one, there was no actual survival involved. The group of eight (James Church, Chris Thomas/Poptarts, Benjamin Schrader, Oliver Davis, Arnold Cunningham, Kevin Price, Steve Blade and Connor McKinley) all drove around in two of the cars, stopping at pre selected places to film.

Driving at a normal speed, the route (Which Arnold and Church had carefully selected together with the help of Poptarts and Schrader who had been on the scouting team when they first arrived.) would take roughly six hours. With all of the stops, it would take them four days (after this initial day of slowly working through the kinks in their plan) ending in a small village only 45 minutes from the airport where they would spend a day before moving on.

The way it had been planned, the crew would drive until they got to a particular place, stop, get out, unload, shoot scenes of Steve crouched next to a particular edible flower, or starting a fire, Steve would get mad about something and yell, a lot, Connor would try and console him which barely worked, and they would load up and repeat.

One of the main things Kevin found out about Steve over this time was that he was a complete, massive douche. Since he was the star of the show and the main draw, they had to abide by his rules and work with his 'vision'. Meaning, if Mr. Blade didn't want to eat a chrysanthemum, then he could eat a hardboiled egg instead and nobody could say a word.

That was another thing that baffled Kevin even though it wasn't that big of a deal. Steve had access to the oddest variety of foods. For breakfast, he managed to eat a stack of pancakes despite their lack of mix, or eggs despite their lack of eggs. It always just nagged at the back of his head as he gnawed on the stick of jerky that he had to eat due to the "lack of supplies."

By far, the highlight of the first two days on of shooting were the mornings when Connor woke everyone up with a cup of coffee and a sweet smile. He didn't say much, but Kevin already really liked the boy. Though he dressed completely wrong for the weather and location along with being just a little clumsy.

The conversations between the two of them were basically harmless, they exchanged simple pleasantries and Kevin received his drink from Connor. The first day, they talked a little bit about the TV show and its progress, but Connor obviously wasn't interested in the topic so they switched to the task of trying to figure each other out without getting to far into each other's lives.

By the end of the first real day, Connor already knew Kevin's middle name, shirt size, and favorite artificial flavor (James, medium, and cherry) while Kevin still knew nothing.

That was the thing about Connor, he was secretive. He could probably go on for hours about music, but when Kevin asked him about how he and Steve had met, Connor immediately clammed up. The second day, he claimed to have something to do when he delivered the caffeine and Kevin tried to strike up a conversation.

All of the secrecy only made Kevin more intrigued by the small redhead. To him, Connor was a mystery that had to be solved.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't until the third day that Kevin started to really figure out Connor McKinley. It was an accident actually, he had tripped over a tripod leg into a pit of mud and was washing it off in a nearby stream. At first it was quiet but then he heard raised voices coming from the other side of some of the brush that had grown on the banks.

He peered around them and saw that the voices were coming from one person not two. From his hiding spot he could see that the two were Steve and Connor. Mr. Blade's face was livid and he was clearly telling Connor off about something. Connor looked like he was trying to be calm and his features were blank but his body was shaking a little.

Knowing how Steve was, Kevin stuck around to make sure that Connor would be okay. He scooted a tiny bit closer and he could hear what they were saying.

"-to stop giving _my_ stuff away to those idiots!" Steve angrily stomped his foot.

Connor nodded solemnly and remained quiet as his boyfriend kept reprimanding him.

"We don't have a never ending store of supplies!" he hissed.

Connor's face was still stony.

"You can't just keep giving everything away! You didn't come here to do things for the crew, you came here for me." The last sentence came out whiney and wasn't met with a response which obviously annoyed Steve to no end. From the tips of his $300 hiking boots to his blonde roots he was quivering with anger.

"What are you mute?! Say something!" he commanded.

Connor seeming to be carefully thinking about what to say before he opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry." He decided.

"For what?" he asked.

"For misusing our vital supplies and extravagantly wasting your incredibly important money." The red head sighed sadly.

Steve let out a growl at the answer like his brain was trying to detect sarcasm. "And what are you going to do differently in the future?" he ventured in a voice like he was talking to a three year old.

Much to Kevin's part glee and part dismay, Connor's resolve wavered and he shrugged sassily.

Steve narrowed his eyes and with blinding speed, grabbed Connor's shoulders and shook them.

"What. Are. You. Going. To. Do. Connor?" he said through gritted teeth.

Kevin's eyes were bugging out of his head but he was rooted at the spot as he continued watching the scene unfold.

"I-I'll pay for the coffee myself!" the smaller boy stammered desperately. "Steve" he gasped. "Stop it you're hurting me!"

As if a switch had been flicked, Steve Blade immediately let go of him and took a step back, still glaring at the other man.

"I'll make sure you do." He muttered before stalking away leaving a shell-shocked Kevin and a shivering Connor behind him as he walked back to their camp.

Kevin moved a little so Steve wouldn't see him as he walked back, but stayed hidden even after he was long gone, trying to figure out his next step.

For a while, the two sat still in the mostly open plains until Connor sank down to the ground and scooped up some water from the stream and holding up to his face. That went on from a little longer, then Connor spoke through his hands.

"I know you're there Kevin." He whispered, his voice was hoarse and shaky. "I saw you before… _he_… left."

The brunette rose from his hiding spot with a shameful look on his face.

"Connor…" he started but he was cut off.

"I'm fine." McKinley snapped, standing up and facing Kevin. "Steve and I just had a… misunderstanding. I don't need your help and I _certainly _don't need your pity."

"I wasn't going t-"

"Of course you weren't." Connor said less harshly. "You were just going to say, '_I didn't know Connor!' 'Do you need anything?' 'I know how you feel.'_" The softness was gone from his voice and all that was left were hollow, hard words.

"I wasn't going to say that." Kevin mumbled, taken back by the harsh tongue lashing. "I was just going to say that you should probably break up with your guy. He's kind of an ass."

Connor looked a little bit surprised, but broke into a small smile. "Yeah, I know."

"Why don't you?" Kevin questioned.

"I… can't… Steve, he has this way of manipulating people, you know? One second, you think you love him and think you're going to spend the rest of your life with him and the next…" he took a breath. "The next, he's shaking you silly because you tried to do something nice for people he doesn't think are worth it."

Kevin took a few steps closer and nodded sympathetically. "Okay." He said plainly.

"What?"

"Okay." He repeated. "You know what's best and I've only known you for three days. It's your life."

Connor's shoulders sagged in relief that he had avoided another argument.

"But…" Kevin continued. "In these two days you've been really nice. So if he's mean again, just ask me and I'll help you beat him up."

This time Connor laughed and only seemed a little sad.

"Thanks." He beamed.

"No prob', beating up bullies is one of my favorite pastimes!"

Connor giggled in a very manly way before sobering up.

"We should probably head back now." He said, before standing up and stretching his body to release the pressure that had been built up. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" he begged.

Kevin hesitated. "For now…" he agreed. Though he was pretty sure that the others had at least some knowledge of what was going in between the couple.

Connor's grin returned. "Hey that's a song from Avenue Q!" he said happily, as if he hadn't just been attacked by his boyfriend.

"Avenue… what?" Kevin asked.

"Q! The musical!" Connor gleefully explained. "It's really great, you should totally go see it sometime."

"You like Broadway?" Kevin said doubtfully.

"Like it? I used to be on it!" he shot back. "I had a really great role in this one show but…" he trailed off sadly.

"Steve made you come with him?" Kevin guessed.

"Yeah, he doesn't like musicals…" he frowned bitterly. "Thinks they're gay."

Kevin couldn't help it. Despite the situation's seriousness he let out a laugh.

"What?!" Connor glared.

"They gay guy won't let his boyfriend do a musical because he thinks it's gay? That's a new one."

"Shut up." Connor defended, but laughed a little bit all the same. "Plus, Steve's _not_ gay. I don't really know what he is, it never came up, but he's had girlfriends before."

They continued talking about safer subjects until they reached the camp and reluctantly parted ways. It was a mutual unspoken agreement that they were now friends.

It didn't even cross Kevin's mind until that night when he was lying awake in his sleeping bag that the conversation they had had, had given him the first real glimpse at Connor McKinley.

"Musicals are gay." He scoffed softly as he let sleep take him over.


	4. Chapter 4

It was only after a grueling four days of stopping, and filming, and dealing with the grade A level douchiness of Mr. Blade that the crew drove into the village that marked the end of their first episode and the beginning of their short rest.

The locals all didn't give the cars the time of day as they rumbled noisily down the grainy, rust colored roads. It looked like some rain might be in the future, but the group were had housing provided by a group of Mormon missionaries that were working to convert the townspeople.

They were easily welcomed in by the mission leader and assigned tiny rooms and just as the last of the cameras and mics were transported inside, the inky skies opened up to a downpour.

Kevin was sitting happily nestled in a small bed crammed into the corner of a small brown room. Though the sheets were a little rough, after six nights of tents and floors, it felt like the taj mahal.

Later that night, Kevin lay in the bed listening to the desert storm crash around him. He'd brought what seemed to be a lifetime supply of flashlights and batteries, and just in case he had free time, a blank notebook, some pencils, and one of his favorite books _The Great Gatsby_. Not quite feeling up to writing at the time, Kevin opened his novel and started reading.

He was fully relaxed and halfway asleep when a soft knock came at his doorframe. Kevin looked up drowsily and gave a weak smile when he saw Connor's pale face peering hesitantly from the door.

"Hey," Kevin said, trying to not sound too tired.

"Um, hi." Connor stepped fully out from the frame and Kevin saw that he had barrowed clothes from one of the missionaries. He had on the standard door-to-door uniform consisting of a cleanly pressed white button-up, black dress pants, and a light blue tie.

It was slightly different from his normal colored outfits, but he looked handsome all the same, in an official sort of way.

"Nice outfit." Kevin muttered. He was still a bit groggy.

Connor glanced down at the clothes and his cheeks blushed a deep red.

"I fell it a mud puddle." He muttered. "And I only packed two extra outfits. So one of the guys lent me this."

"Only two extras?" Kevin mocked in fake shock, though the guy's words were a little sad. From what little he knew about Connor McKinley, his fall probably wasn't all that accidental.

"You can shut up right now." Connor informed him.

"Duly noted. So did you come here for any particular reason or just to distract me from this?" Kevin waved around the book.

Connor didn't pick up on the joke and relayed the mission that he was on at the moment.

"I need a favor." He got right to the point.

"Done." Kevin said, straight-faced, though he was cackling on the inside.

"You didn't even hear what I was going to say!" Connor protested.

"Fine, what?"

"I need to get the other suitcase I brought since this." He gestured to the uniform. "Happened."

"I need to go get something from the Jeep," Connor continued. "…and Poptarts and Arnold said that you had a key…" he trailed off since he knew that Kevin already knew where he was going with the request.

"Yeah, they're right here." He jumped off of the bed clumsily and shuffled over to the tiny drawer where he had stored the car keys and plucked them from the spot they had been resting. He casually tossed them to Connor with a sleepy grin and said,

"Bring 'em right back. Church'll kill me if he finds out that I'm giving these out and they're my only copy. And be careful in that storm out there."

Connor smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it."

So Kevin went back to his book and let the storm lull him to sleep and before he knew it, he was being gently nudged awake.

"Kevin," whispered an almost urgent voice. "Kevin?"

"G'way C'nor." He grumbled flipping over. "I know f'r a fact we don' hafta geddup early t'day."

"Hey! Kevin!" the voice repeated, this time he was awake enough to tell that this was _not_ the voice of Connor McKinley.

Sitting up, Kevin's suspicions were proved correct when he was greeted with the solemn face of James Church.

"Waah!" he sat up. "I'm awake! I'm awake! What is it?" Kevin exclaimed.

James looked at him strangely as if to say. '_I was hoping you would know'_

Kevin quickly scanned the tightly packed room. The other bed, Arnold's hadn't been touched, so he'd most likely been chatting up the local women all night. There was light streaming through the window, which probably meant that the storm had passed. That was good, the plane would be leaving today and clear skies would help ensure a safe flight.

All of this was processed immediately before James could elaborate and none of them seemed like a reason to wake him up early on a day off. Instead, he just stared blankly at Church to let him know that he had no clue what was going on.

"What?" he asked cluelessly.

"Well Schrader told me that Davis told him that Poptarts had sent Connor to you for advice or something and this morning Mr. Blade came to me and said that I needed to ask you about it and that you would know what to do becau-"

"Church, slow down." Kevin soothed. "What's. Wrong?" he carefully asked.

"I just said," he sounded even more confused than Kevin. "Schrader told me that Davis told him that Poptarts had sent Connor to you for advice or something and this morning Mr. Blade came to me an-"

"CHURCH!" Kevin yelled. "What is the 'it' you were talking about?"

"Ohhh… yeahh…" Church said. It was more and more apparent that he was stalling.

"The thing is… I guess you could say… that Connor… kind of sort of… maybe… is gone." He finished flatly.


	5. Chapter 5

"Gone?" Kevin rose an eyebrow quizzically. "How?"

"Well," James rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "We were going to head out later today and last night Connor said that he'd help us with the packing but he never showed up to the cars when he promised he would be there and when we went to Mr. Blade about it, he mentioned that you were the last on to see him."

"Yeah I saw him…" Kevin started and Church perked up. Kevin quickly cut him off. "Last night though," he waved his hands to let James know that it wasn't the information he wanted to hear at the moment.

The director's face was much less than pleased. "Last night? When did you see him?"

"He came to my room asking for… for keys to the…crap!" Kevin turned around and put his hand on his head. "That bastard took my keys!"

"Kevin!" shouted Church. "Priorities, tell me what happened."

Kevin spun around and sighed. "Connor messed up his clothes last night so he needed his stupid "spare outfit" and he'd heard that I had an extra set of keys to the car so I loaned him my copy. I must've fallen asleep before I realized that he hadn't come back."

James glared at Kevin. "You mean to tell me that you _lost_ your boss' boyfriend _and_ the keys I trusted you with?!"

"Well when you put it that way…" Kevin sheepishly frowned.

"Kevin, this is serious."

"You don't think I know that?" Kevin's voice was slightly tenser than before. "Connor is my friend too... Are you even sure he's missing?" he tried hopefully.

He wasn't sure what he expected, maybe James to say _'actually, we haven't looked anywhere so he probably isn't' _but that didn't happen.

"We checked everywhere." Church desperately explained. "None of the elders or crew have seen him."

"Have you talked to Mr. Blade?" Kevin tried as a last-ditch effort.

"Schrader mentioned it to him, but he said that couldn't quite get a feel of what he thought. He's kinda hard to read."

Kevin scoffed. Steve Blade was a lot of things, but to him mysterious wasn't one of them.

"Well," he ran his fingers through his hair nervously, "Let's go talk to him."

James sat on a chair in the corner of the room while Kevin threw on some clothes and ran a comb through his messy hair. When he was presentable enough to his standards, the brunette headed purposefully out the door followed by his co-worker.

The chat with his boss was, to say the least, infuriating and an extreme test of everyone's patience.

Kevin calmly entered the large room that was meant for Connor and Steve with James Church nervously trailing behind him. Steve was lounging on his bed in nothing but a pair of plaid boxers and an ugly beanie hat that was sloppily thrown on his ear length blonde hair. The man was aimlessly reading a surf magazine that's cover featured a man weaving in and out of a crystal clear twenty foot wave.

In Kevin's opinion he looked like an idiot. Plus, he knew for a fact (from the other crew members) that, despite his typical "Surfer Bro" exterior, the closest Mr. Blade had ever gotten to hanging ten was the time when he boogie boarded in the Keys after an episode was filmed there.

They stood silently waiting for their boss to acknowledge them and finally Kevin let out a little fake cough.

That's when Steve finally "noticed" the two men. He casually looked up for a second before directing his attention back to the magazine in an attempt to look carelessly cool.

"What." He disinterestedly asked.

Church shuffled his feet, rubbing his neck uncomfortably like he could read his Boss' mind. Kevin took a brave breath and spoke up.

"Connor is missing." He started.

Steve, who still refused to face them, looked at his page slightly annoyed. "I know," he narrowed his eyes. "What are you going to do about it?"

Church looked shocked that someone's boyfriend could act so unconcerned and nonchalant about their significant other's disappearance, but he kept silent and looked at the old wooden floors of the room.

Kevin found it funny how Steve could turn a man like James Church from a bold leader, to a shy chicken just with a few words. Mr. Blade just had that effect on people he supposed.

"Sir," Kevin gathered all of his diplomacy that he had and continued. "We checked the direct vicinity of the mission but wanted to know if you would assist us in going farthe-"

"Kaden," Steve started, still not bothering to look away from his book.

"Kevin," he muttered

"Whatever, Kaden, Kamden. They sound alike."

"It's Kev-"

"Do I look like I have time to go on every search party that comes by?"

Kevin wanted to say, _'you are literally doing nothing right now.' _But sighed and mumbled "No."

Steve finally turned his head up to face them.

"Exactly, so you'd better find him. If Connor doesn't show up soon then he's going to be assumed dead. The show must go on."

James tried to cover his gasp with his hands but Steve noticed.

"What is it Church?" he demanded.

"Nothing." He stammered.

Steve looked very irritated and rolled his eyes. "Fine, go out and look for my boyfriend. But don't take too long. We have the next location to think of."

They turned around to leave but he held up a hand.

"Oh, and Kerwin," he looked pointedly at Kevin who sighed.

"It's Kevin."

"That's what I just said." He snapped. "I just wanted to tell you to back off Connor. You too spend a little too much time together."

He dismissed them by going back to his magazine and flipping the page.

Kevin and James backed out slowly and once they were away, James turned back into the leader he was, though he still seemed a little bit shaken.

"Okay Price, that… event… aside. Connor is still out there and we have…" Church checked his watch. "Three hours to find him. Let's get the others and start."

Kevin nodded and followed Church to the other rooms so they could start their search.

"I don't spend_ that _much time with him do I?" Kevin asked when they were out of earshot.

"I mean… more than we do…" Church shrugged. "But it doesn't mean anything." He quickly amended.

Kevin shook his head in agreement. And it was true. He didn't really have any romantic feeling for Connor. The auburn kid was just a really great friend who was lots of fun to spend time around.


	6. Chapter 6

Kevin squinted in the sun as he walked down the dusty red road that winded through the town. Gathering a search party had been easy enough, everyone wanted to help out in the search. People loved Connor and wanted a part in his rescue. What was proving to be difficult was getting the cooperation of the villagers.

When the team shuffled by, most people shut their doors (if they had them) quickly and didn't stick their heads out until they were well past the premises of their ramshackle huts. The brave were just pairs of eyes, covertly observing the strange newcomers with a calculating stare.

**"**This isn't working," muttered Chris as he kicked some dirt across the pathway.

Church looked like he was about to snap at his friend but his gaze softened as he thought about what Chris had been trying to say.

"You're right Poptarts…" he sighed in surrender. "Any ideas?"

Chris muttered something under his breath that was probably something to the effect of "ugh."

James faced the rest with a quizzical look. "Schrader, go." He pointed to Eric who jumped a little at his name.

"Oh… finding Connor… Well, first thing… we… you know…"

James rolled his eyes and moved on. "Davis, shoot."

The man just shrugged woefully.

"Cunningham?" James desperately tried.

Arnold actually started to speak. "Well, I did see this one thing in a Star Wars movie…"

But James Church ignored him. Most of Arnold's ideas were outlandish and unexecutable. He didn't want to encourage the cameraman's bad habit.

"Price, you're basically responsible for this and the others don't have a clue," Church turned to Kevin, dismissing the other man. "Please come up with something."

Kevin ran every possible thing he could think of through his head and they all fell short of what they needed.

"We can…" he started

"Guys," Arnold tried again. "I have an idea."

"Cunningham come on! Kevin is thinking."

Kevin's hubris was getting in the way of focusing on the fact that Arnold had an idea and he didn't.

"Price!" Church demanded. "Chop chop! We have a missing half of a celebrity couple and three hours!"

"Fine, fine." Kevin snapped. "Let's split up." He took charge.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Davis warily asked, looking around the deserted town.

"Do you have a better one?" Kevin irritated asked.

Ben muttered something under his breath that Kevin yet again ignored.

"Okay guys!" he clapped his hands. "Schrader, you go with Davis. Poptarts, you're with Arnold. I'll go with Church."

The group grumbled again but they paired off and went two by two deeper into the town.

When they were gone, Kevin faced James.

"You think we'll find him?" he sighed.

James thought for a second. "If anyone can find him, it's us," he decided.

Kevin's plan actually worked fairly well… kind of. Almost immediately after the crew spread out, locals started to emerge from their huts. Not that Kevin planned on talking to them, but it was a lot less creepy when people were around and not peering out from behind a slab of mud.

The two went around for about an hour before they saw another pair. It was Schrader and Davis who were covered in dirt, but had no McKinley.

When they met up, Church was the first to speak.

"Any luck?" he queried.

They shook their heads sadly. "We walked by the river." Schrader explained. "There was plenty of mud, no boyfriends though."

"How about Arnold and Chris?" Kevin broke in, putting a hand up as if to say 'I'm talking'

"Weren't they looking around town too?" Davis wondered.

"I think so…"

"What do you think they could be doing?"

"Knowing Arnold, they probably stopped to take a picture with that guy who looks like Yoda half a mile down." James scoffed.

There was a rumble of chuckles, but everyone was too exhausted and dejected to appreciate the attempt at humor.

"So what now?" Davis awkwardly trailed off.

There were a few shrugs but Church had an idea.

"Let's just get Chris and see what the found." He answered, rubbing his forehead.

The rest agreed pretty easily, mostly because they had no other plan. So they put one foot in front of the other and headed in the direction that Team Poptarts had gone in.

Finding Arnold was a stroke of luck, and what Arnold had found was even more so filled to the brim with good fortune.

The four stumbled across him, quite literally, when Kevin tripped over a rotting door that had been strewn in the streets. He let out an ear piercing shriek as he caught himself with his hands.

"Price!" James Church exasperatedly moaned. "Stop dicking around!"

Kevin glared up at him from the ground. "Excuse you, I fell." He sharply retorted.

"Heavenly Father!" Davis groaned. "We're falling apart and instead of finding Connor, we just lost Arnold and Chris."

From behind Benjamin, a distinct voice rang out. "Heyyyy Guuyyys!" It was the nasally tone of Arnold Cunningham and he seemed awfully proud of something.

Kevin crawled up and brushed dirt off of his knees before placing a hand on his hip. "Arnold, where have you been?"

"Oh, well first we went to that weird little farm, and then we walked down the road, and then I took a picture with that one guy that looks like Yoda, and the-"

"We mean why you are so late?!" Kevin barked.

"Yeah and where's Poptarts?" Church added.

"Oh, I left him with Connor and Naba… Naba… Some girl we met on the way. But I'm late because I got a little lost… but we heard a little girl screaming and we came out to see what was up…" Arnold awkwardly trailed off but nobody had even heard the last part.

"Arnold! You said… Connor…? You two found him?" Kevin breathlessly asked, turning a little red from the last part of his comment.

"Well, yeah." Arnold nodded. "I tried to tell you earlier that maybe we should talk to the locals."

"Didn't you say something about Star Wars?" Schrader hesitantly said.

"That was something else." Cunningham quickly replied. "Not important."

Everyone else was too relieved to even process the exchanged that had just taken place.

"Is… Is he… alright?" Kevin inquired.

"See for yourself." He answered back. "Follow me, it's just down the road.

The five trotted through the blanket of dust eagerly for a short time until they reached a relatively nice structure.

Waiting outside, was a beautiful woman who appeared to be about their age. She was tapping her foot and when she saw Arnold bringing the four others towards her structure, her lips stretched happily to reveal surprisingly white teeth beneath all of the filth that surrounded her.

She gave a mini wave and spoke. "Hello Arnold and friends of Arnold."

They all murmured 'hello' and the pretty woman went on.

"I am Nabalungi." She said in surprisingly good English. "Your friend is in my house, no?"

The men all enthusiastically nodded.  
"He is this way." She headed inside and they all went in single file after her.

The 'house' was actually two separate rooms and had a nice airy feel to it. The sweltering heat was cooled in the mud of the mud.

"You have a lovely mud hut." Schrader said as Church glared at him.

The almost insult was lost on the girl as she floated into the other room.

"Poptart, your friends have come."

There was a rustling and Chris appeared in the doorway looking slightly ruffled, just like the rest of the search party.

"I've got him." He promised Church. "He's in the other room resti-"

"I'm alright!" a defiant voice and a shock of auburn hair appeared in the frame.

"Connor!" they cried.

He gave a tired smile and nodded. "I'm here."

"Where were you?" Kevin asked.

Connor frowned. "Well, I went outside in the storm but I couldn't find the car through all of the rain and I fell and somehow woke up here. Nabalungi… must've found me… she was great." He thankfully grinned at her and she gladly beamed back.


	7. Chapter 7

The trip back was far better than the journey there. After they said goodbye to Nabalungi with many promises to text her, they went on their way. Everyone was in a good mood, even Connor (though he seemed to be fairly drained,) and it carried them back.

They certainly looked like a ragtag bunch when they reached the mission. Eric and Ben were still caked in dirt and had only bothered to wipe it off of their eyelids and mouth. Kevin couldn't even tell what color their clothes had been before. Poptarts and Arnold looked clean and well dressed in comparison to the others. Other than messy hair and ruffled clothes, they only had a minimal amount of dust and dirt from the trip. Kevin had rolled his frayed pants up to his knees and the bandannas that they had tied around their head were soaked with sweat.

Connor was still in the missionaries clothes from last night, leading Kevin to believe that he hadn't reached the Jeep before the weather had knocked him down. He'd somehow kept the blue tie though a film of dust that was covering him faded the already light blue to an almost yellow and made his previously pristine white button up light brown. Physically, he just looked tired. There was a cut running down his chin that had been patched up, but otherwise he was fine. During the walk, he stumbled occasionally and all six of his travel companions always leapt to grab him. To which he always waved them off with a breathy "Thanks boys, but I'm fine."

They finally stumbled up to the ramshackle building with, according to James' watch, 10 minutes to spare. They were greeted by a frazzled elder who quickly ushered them inside.

Kevin relished the cool air and took off his bandana to fan himself. The tired, but happy group lounged on the floor and couch of the central room, trying to catch their breath.

"Connor!" came an unnaturally sweet sounding voice from the doorway. "I was so worried about you!"

Kevin glanced up to see Steve Blade strut into the room with an expression that was more fake than his ex-girlfriend's nose.

From Connor's expression though, Steve seemed to be a beacon of love and light. The exhaustion from before had faded and McKinley leapt up off the ratty sofa and flew over to where his boyfriend was standing.

"Steve I-"

Steve opened his arms and let the red-head sink into his pristine Nor-Cal sweatshirt.

"Hey baby." He muttered smugly, wrapping his toned arms around Connor's much more fragile, slender body.

Kevin couldn't help but slightly glare at his boss. After the disturbing scene from the river and Steve's extreme unhelpfulness in finding Connor, Blade was on the bottom of the list of people Kevin wanted touching his friend. But he had to keep reminding himself that it wasn't his problem and that a guy he had barely known for four days wasn't worth his job and entire career.

"What happened?" Mr. Blade demanded, almost protectively, still holding onto his partner tightly.

"I-I I got lost in the storm." Connor meekly breathed into Steve's torso. It was apparent to everyone that this was one of those times that he had previously mentioned when his toxic boyfriend drew him back in with the promising lure of true love.

"It was an accident, but it's no big deal." He continued.

"Who let you go out?" calmly whispered Steve.

"I… uh… got… dirty remember babe?" McKinley hesitantly laughed. "And I then I went to get the keys to the Jeep and then went out to get a change of clothes?"

Blade thought over Connor's answer and seemingly decided it was valid. "Alright… I missed you Con' and I'm soooo glad you're safe."

Kevin saw the others cringe as Steve's hands slowly crept down to his boyfriend's ass mid-hug and give a playful squeeze.

Connor let out a quiet yelp but passed it off as a cough/laugh and the two boys turned to face the crew that was awkwardly watching the painful exchange.

"What are you looking at?" Blade demanded defensively. "Wheels up in thirty!"

After that, there wasn't any room for worrying over the events of today since they had nearly three hours of lost time to make up for. Though Kevin did noticed Connor walking toward his room, red-faced, but stupidly grinning after everyone was dismissed.

After working madly, the _Bladez _crew managed to pack up and head out only fifteen minutes behind schedule.

One of the show's shticks, that Kevin had learned from the informational employee's packet that he'd gotten when he took the job, and from binge watching the show on On Demand before his departure, was that nobody knew the destinations of each episode until directly before traveling.

After each episode, there would be a reveal sequence where Steve would be told the next destination. Apparently, the people ate it up. In Kevin's experience with the show, he'd found it terribly cheesy.

So after packing and loading all but one camera and a sound mic, the cast, crew, and Connor all gathered in front of the building to announce the new destination. To make it "fun" for everyone, only Church knew the full list of destinations and kept each of them in fancy little envelopes hidden inside of a small suitcase that he had wherever he was staying. Not that anyone actually cared enough to look at the envelopes. But James liked the suspense.

To keep the costs low, Church doubled as the show's host whenever needed, so after everyone had assembled and the camera's started rolling, he whipped out some notecards and began talking in a show voice.

"Helllllloo, ladies and gentlemen!" he animatedly started. "This episode was a particularly interesting one. Blade faced many challenges and grappled with death."

Kevin had to hold back a snort as he listened to Church ramble about the 'death-defying feats' the 'brave' Steve Blade had accomplished this week. Later someone would edit in clips from the episode and it would, to an average viewer, that Steve indeed was the magical wild man that the show had distorted him to be.

"Nowwwww after that exciting recap, we can get to the part that you all want to see…."

Pause for dramatic effect.

"The next episode… of _Bladez in the Wild_… will take place in…. Theeeeeee Yukooon!"

The cameras held the shot for several more seconds before Church relaxed and continued in his regular voice.

"That's a rap people! Let's get moving!" and yet again the crew bustled around to get the equipment loaded onto several small airplanes.

Kevin somehow found himself on the final sweep to make sure nothing was left behind. After an uneventful search, only recovering a book, two pairs of socks, and a hair brush, Kevin ended up in the room set aside for Connor and Steve. However, Steve was off pretending to be in charge so Kevin was alone with Connor who seemed to be shoving a pair of very unpractical shoes into a small, designer backpack.

"Need any help?" Kevin asked, resting his head against the door frame.

Connor looked up startled, but shook his head. "I'm fine." He softly said and continued to ram the shoe into the bag.

"You know," Kevin laughed. "If you didn't bring your entire closet, maybe you wouldn't be having this problem."

"Shut up Price." Connor said a little less softly as he finally fit the shoes into the pack with a grunt.

"I'm just saying."

"Cooonnooor," came a musical drawl from behind Kevin. "Let's go! Get your crap and move i-oh hey Kenten." Steve appeared in the doorway, looking as dumb as ever in an ugly beanie and a tank top depicting a beach sunset.

"Hello _sir."_ Kevin greeted, while he muttered '_It's Kevin'_ under his breath.

"You trying to steal my boy?" Steve asked. His words were said with humor but there was an underlying threat in the question.

"Um, no sir." Kevin quickly said. "I was actually just leaving." He answered, and gave Connor a halfhearted smile before heading out to finish his task.

As he left. He heard Steve's whiney voice saying. "Cooome here babe." Before he was out of earshot of the couple.

It was time to pack for Canada.


	8. Chapter 8

After a packed, turbulence-filled plane ride, two five hour layovers, and three vomiting incidents, Kevin was ready to get some peace and quiet. So when he was asked, he jumped at the chance to perform the long arduous task of checking out the previously planned route of their "Wild Journey" through the Yukon.

The first part of the location that Kevin noticed came instantly after the crew landed in the middle of nowhere. It was the profound notion that: it's cold.

And damn, it was. It was a good thing that in the employee's booklet he'd been warned to "pack light and for all weather" Even through his old winter coat and gloves (he couldn't work well in mittens,) the cold air still bit at Kevin's face. According to James' weather watch that he kept with him at all times, today was a particularly cold late spring day, about 20 degrees.

Extra work had to be done on the equipment and the heavier lodging had to be set up, so it was originally decided that Kevin would head out alone. But as he turned on the ignition and started to head into the icy wilderness, James called out his name.

"Price!"

Kevin was able to hear Church's voice over the soft hum of the jeep and turned off the engine to find out what the director had to say.

"Yeah?" he asked when the windows were rolled down. Needless to say, this wasn't an open topped car.

"Kevin, what are you doing?" James' breathlessly asked. He had clearly been running to catch him before he left.

"Going out to go over the route?" he tried. Apparently Church hadn't been privy to his assignment. It had been discussed by everyone else, but the director had been talking to Steve who had actually come out on time to the starting point. Due to the extra preparations needed.

"Alone?" James raised his eyebrows. "You can't just go off by yourself."

"Everyone else is busy," Kevin insisted. "There isn't anyone available to come with."

Church bit his lip thoughtfully before saying, "Why don't you take Connor? He isn't doing anything and he's more competent than half the crew." As he said the words, James nodded his head towards a small patch of grass where Poptarts and Arnold were using tripods as light sabers.

"Hey!" he called over at them. They guiltily set the stands down and continued putting the snow proof covers on them. Turning back to Kevin, James gave a tired smile.

"Bring Connor." He directed, and went off to yell at Schrader and Davis who were flinging snow at each other several yards away from where Arnold and Poptarts were working.

Kevin scanned their campsite before his eyes rested on Connor. He was hard to miss as his clothes, as usual, stood out from the drab, heavy-duty garb that clothed the rest of the crew. Connor was donning a gay turtleneck under a modern looking black coat. It was funny to see him in almost complete black, but he looked good.

Trailing behind Steve who was sulking next to their plug in heater, Connor was blowing on his leather gloved hands and kicking his expensive looking boots to make the unmelted part of the snow fly into the wind and spread throughout the air.

Making sure that his faded green coat was tightly wrapped around his body, Kevin stepped out of the vehicle. He regretted it when the heat from the car faded away and his face was slammed with an icy blast of air.

He managed to get close enough to the heater that he could actually take in some of its warmth when he addressed the couple.

"Uhhh… hey." He started carefully.

The two instantly snapped to attention and focused on Kevin. It was Steve who spoke first.

"What do you want?" he demanded harshly.

"_IneedConnor'shelpwiththeroute."_ Kevin stumbled out.

Normally he was a confident person, but lately, Steve had been making him stumble and get nervous and occasionally angry. Especially with the way he mistreated Connor, who was still hopelessly devoted to him.

Steve didn't seem to have time to deal with Kevin's jitters as he was already in a bad mood. "What the hell did you just say Prince? You have to speak up over this damn wind."

"Price," Kevin muttered.

"Whatever, what do you want?" Steve breathed out.

"I need Connor's help checking on the route." Kevin slowly and carefully said.

Connor looked up smiling from his place behind Steve. It was funny how Connor Mckinley could turn a total badass suave outfit into a still fashionable, unpractical one. Connor looked great in the all black… it was just weird seeing him smile in it when he looked like he should be condescendingly posing for a photo shoot.

The smile didn't last long, because not a second after he looked to Kevin, he immediately seemed to correct himself to look at Steve. As if asking for approval, which, knowing the Blade-McKinley couple, was likely exactly what Connor was doing.

Steve didn't have any emotion on his face. "No."

Connor's face fell but he quickly wiped the emotion away and refused to look at Kevin.

"But Mr. Blade, Church told me-"

"No." Steve repeated. "I won't send my boyfriend out to do some menial task with… with _you."_

"It really wouldn't be any trou-," Connor started.

"Connor," Steve warned, shutting up the red-head instantly.

Kevin knew what he had to do. Church had sent him for Connor, and he would get Connor. "Listen, Mr. Blade." He said as courteously as he could. "There is nobody else available to do the job. The only other options are for A) Connor to come with me B) us to have to go in blind, which would mean you wouldn't get all of your… benefits. Or C) _you_ come with me and we'll check the route."

While Steve thought the options over, Kevin prayed that Steve wouldn't choose C. Not that he actually thought there would be a chance in hell that the great Steve Blade would sink to going on a day long road trip with the likes of Kevin Price, camera 3.

At last, Mr. Blade glared at him and sighed. "Fine. Take him with you I don't care. But if I find that yo-"

Connor laid a soft thin hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Steve seemed to like what Connor had said because he stopped his warning.

"Don't be long." Steve growled before turning around and going back to his sulking. "Be back by dark."

As Kevin walked back to the truck, he motioned for a gleeful Connor to follow. It seemed that Steve's approval had done wonders to his mood.

"What did you say to him?" Kevin asked.

"I'm not completely helpless Kevin." Connor innocently smiled. "I just offered him something as a… bargain."

"Wait, you mean…"

But Connor had already hopped into the Jeep and when Kevin did climb in after him, McKinley just pointed out the window, "Come on _Prince," _he said mockingly of his boyfriends botching of Kevin's last name. "What do you say we see the world?"


	9. Chapter 9

"This… seems to be the place…" Kevin mumbled, scanning the GPS that had been set to take them to the different stopping points.

Connor was excitedly looking out the window as if the snow coated trees were the most exciting thing he'd ever seen. It was odd to Kevin, seeing Connor getting so worked up about a small trip. Normally, McKinley was content with hovering in the background or at Steve's side but this adventure seemed to perk him up. It wasn't like Connor never got out. Kevin knew for a fact that they had been on far fancier trips to Milan, Paris, Ibiza, and countless other foreign places promoting the show, on any of Steve's acting jobs, or even just vacations. Or at least that's what he'd read in his sister's People magazine featurette on the couple that had been released shortly before he'd left.

Maybe it was the fresh air that kept him so lively. Kevin was positive that though Connor had traveled the world, he hadn't really spent much time "roughing it" (even if roughing it meant cruising a beaten path in a luxury Jeep with heated seats.)

"This is going to be one of the hard parts," Kevin explained as he pulled his hood on and laced up his boots. "This is the halfway point where we're going to set up stakes for when we finally get here for real."

Looking away from the window and following Kevin in preparation to head outside, Connor quizzically glanced up at his travel companion. "Won't the snow cover them up?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, but they'll still be there and we can dust 'em off. I know it's no Seine, but there's a clear frozen river over there if you want to do some sightseeing. Now come on, they're in the back."

Connor looked slightly offended that Kevin would think he would be too soft to face a snowy clearing and a little bit of work, but he got out of the car.

After the two slowly made their way through the rapidly falling snow to get the stakes, they stumbled towards the small clearing and got to work.

The hardest part of the job was the almost frozen solid ground. They had planned to each take eight stakes for the four tents, but when thirty minutes had passed and each of them had only done one each, they realized they needed a change of plans.

"This is impossible," Kevin moaned. Throwing himself into the snow.

Connor looked up from his steak with an amused expression, though his brow was still furrowed from the effort of his task.

"You do know that this isn't the only way to do it. If you want, you can go look at that pretty river over there…" He smiled, wedging the stick a centimeter further through the icy dirt.

Kevin stuck his tongue out playfully, but dusted himself off and walked over to where McKinley had successfully gotten in his second pole.

Instead of each of them drilling in their own stakes, the two opted to change their strategy and work together. Kevin using his strength to push in the rods that Connor nimbly had cleared the way for. Joining forces was much faster and more fun work than the lonely, tiring way they had been attempting.

It was relaxing for Kevin to watch Connor work. His soft, gloved hands gently pushed the snow out of the way and he made a small indent with his fingers to mark the perfect spot for Kevin to move in and drill. Small bits of Connor's reddish hair had snuck out of his cashmere hat and were splayed on his face and stuck over his scarf.

Absentmindedly, Kevin wondered if it would be appropriate for him to tuck them back in. But he shook off the notion immediately and continued working.

After the first rod of the last tent had been finished and he was waiting for the other boy to finish his task, Kevin noticed something peeking out from under Connor's scarf. Lining his pale skin there were reddish purplish bumps that stood out against the stark white landscape.

Kevin's mind jumped to conclusions almost immediately and he took an unconscious step backwards, nearly tripping over a pile of snow in the process.

"Connor," he whispered in horror over the wind. "What… are those…?"

Connor didn't seem to quite get what Kevin was talking about but he turned around in confusion to meet Kevin's eye.

"What?" he asked, almost annoyed that he had been torn away from his job.

Instead of answer, Kevin pointed at his neck.

Slowly realization donned on Connor and his frozen, pale face grew crimson in mortification.

Kevin had found words and choked out. "Did… he… _choke_… you?"

The embarrassment on Connor's face grew and Kevin's anger rose with it. But before he could add anything, the red head spoke quietly.

"Ummm… Kevin… they're hickeys." He looked down.

Now it was Kevin's turn to grow red. "Oh my…"

"It's okay." He murmured.

"You."

Connor nodded.

"But."

"It's a thing couple's do Kevin."

"Yes but…" images of Connor McKinley giggling as Steve Blade nipped at his neck filled Kevin's brain, making him want to drive the rod into his brain.

"Just because Steve and I aren't the healthiest couple, it doesn't mean we don't engage in normal acti-"

"Okay that's enough." Kevin quickly cut him off. "We still have four more to do."

Connor seemed to recognize the brunette's uneasiness so he remained wordless.

They went on in the silence for two more steaks before Connor started talking to break the discomfort between them.

"Steve's pretty great in all things bedroom." He started casually, causing Kevin to grip the cold stick even harder and squeeze his eyes shut. He covered up the shock at the statement with a short cough.

Connor continued. "That's why I started dating him in the first place you know…"

Kevin drove the steak into the ground as hard as he could, making it go straight in the first time.

"Nice," the other boy commented before launching back into his awkward story. "Well, actually, I've known him forever… we've been best friends and then lost touch a while back. But I was living in New York and he came to see a show and invited me out for drinks."

Kevin was slightly less tenses hearing about this part, but it still made him want to vomit his small lunch of a protein bar and a canteen of water onto the snow.

"And that night we went back to his place an-"

Kevin slammed the final stake in.

"Hey. Look!" Kevin quickly turned around and started walking towards the car, not even bothering to see if the pole had gone in correctly. "That was the last one and it's starting to get a little dark. Let's hurry back."

The quick change in topic didn't seem to faze Connor, who just seemed relieved that Kevin was speaking again. He pulled up his scarf making sure it covered the marks and trotted after Kevin.

It wasn't getting dark at all. Actually, they probably still had a good half hour before the sun started setting, but Kevin didn't want to have to continue talking about the McKinley-Blade bedroom escapades.

For the majority of the car ride, Kevin stayed completely silent, listening to the silent sounds of Connor's breathing. It hadn't been ten minutes into the drive that he'd fallen asleep with his head rested up against the frosty window. He had removed his scarf to use it as a pillow and his neck was showing. Kevin couldn't help but cringe a little whenever he looked over to check on his friend.

The work must've tired Connor out, because he slept for almost the entirety of the trip home, save the few times he woke up and check their progress. Eventually it did get dark, but Kevin just turned on the headlights and kept going. It wasn't until they were pulling into the current campsite that Steve's words came back to him.

_"Be back by dark."_

From the fire that was still going strong in the center of the camp, Kevin knew that there was no way they could slip in unnoticed.

"Heavenly father why do you let bad things happen to me?" He moaned, slumping into his seat before sitting up again.

He took one look back at Connor and frowned. He didn't deserve the shitstorm that was coming his way.

"McKinley." He urgently whispered.

"What." Connor whispered back.

"We're here…" Kevin started. He looked up and saw Church standing a little ways away from the group, staring at the Jeep with a grim look on his face. "And Connor…" Kevin continued.

"I know." The voice was wide awake now and when he turned, Kevin saw the alert, determined face of Connor.

"Are you…"

"It's fine." Connor snapped. "I'll be fine. We aren't _that_ late. And I told him…" he breathily said before trailing off abruptly.

Kevin could tell that, on the inside, Connor was terrified of how Steve would react to their tardiness. But he was also using his mask to protect himself, so Kevin didn't try and break into his turmoil.

"Uhhhh…" he brilliantly said, trying to think of a response to the situation.

"Oh god, stop it. I'm fine." The usual brightness was back in Connor's voice, letting Kevin know that McKinley was back in character.


	10. Chapter 10

Kevin carefully opened the car door, as if his stealth could get them in undetected, inwardly cringing at the crunch his boots made when they collided with the coat of snow that had recently fallen. His cringe turned visible when Connor's door slammed off to the right of him. His head shot over and saw, for a second, fear flash through Connor's eyes. But it was quickly covered and replaced with a blank face that perfectly smothered the panic that he must've been feeling.

The two shared a sad little glance before slowly walking towards the light of the fire.

Before they even reached them, half of the group that had been gathered around the fire was already on edge. They might not know the whole McBladely story, but they all felt bad since the two were definitely about to get some major lecturing. Kevin made sure to stand a good three feet away from Connor, but as they neared the fire, he could see the dark look on Steve's face.

"Connor," he spoke a single word and Kevin knew that this was a big deal. For all Blade knew, his boyfriend could have been all over the camera boy in the time they had been late.

"Steve," Connor said calmly, taking a step towards his boyfriend much to Kevin's demise.

Steve clearly didn't like the calm tone and stepped a bit closer to the pair.

"We clearly have some things to talk about _Connor_, why don't you come with me and we can… talk."

Kevin clenched his fist but didn't say anything.

Connor looked down sadly and closed his eyes. He drew a deep breath and let it out. When his eyes opened again they were shining with defiance. "No." he said. It was clearly meant to come out strong but his voice quavered a little at the end.

Steve looked like he had been physically punched and Kevin couldn't help but let a tiny ghost of a smile creep on his face. But both of them quickly regained their composure and from the murderous look on Mr. Blade's face, Kevin couldn't help but fear for his friend's safety.

"What?" Steve whispered.

The rest of the crew surrounding them looked _very_ confused and it hadn't seemed to quite don on them that there was something odd going on between Steve and Connor.

Everyone looked at the redhead for a response to their boss's question.

"No Steve," Connor said, this time fully achieving the strength he'd probably been reaching for. "I _won't_ go with you. Because there isn't anything to talk about."

"Y-you c-can't do that. Connor, come here!" he spluttered. Staggering towards his boyfriend.

"Why?" he said confidently. Connor seemed to be realizing just how easy it was to stand up to his boyfriend and appeared drunk off of the power he was feeling.

"Why?"

"Yeah, why? What can you say here that you can't say in front of th-" Connor's words were cut off because before he could finish his comeback, Steve, who had been inching closer and closer finally broke any self-control he'd had and swung his fist, decking Connor on his cheek and sending him to the ground where he lay sprawled in the snow.

The reaction of the others was almost immediate. Poptarts put a hand over his jaw that was gaping in horror and Arnold let out a shrill shriek. Church closed his eyes as he flinched and the others let out a collective gasp.

Steve didn't seem to notice and flew at Connor once again driving his fancy leather snow shoes into the other boy's abdomen. It was then that the other's reacted and ran at their boss, pulling his off of Connor who was lying in a fetal position on the ground.

Kevin sprinted to his friends side and knelt down, ignoring the cold that stung his knees.

"Connor," he urgently said. "Are you okay?"

Connor nodded his head and took a heavy breath. "I'm… fine.." he gasped. "Just… had… wind…knocked… out…"

"Shhh she yeah I get it, just try and breath." Kevin assured him.

Ignoring Kevin's plea, Connor spoke again. "Did… they see… it?"

"Yes." Kevin Solemnly said. "I don't think that Steve will be a problem anymore."

"But…"

"We don't think you're weak Connor." A voice spoke from behind Kevin.

Price turned his head to see the silhouette of James Church standing behind him with a somber look on his face.

"How did you… know… I was going to."

"My dad." Church cut him off. "He was a lot like your boyfriend."

"Oh…" both Kevin and Connor said.

"Yeah… the second I saw you two I knew something was up. It seems like pretty boy over here figured it out too."

There was a pause of awkward silence before James leaned over and took hold of one of Connors arms and wrapped it around his shoulder while gesturing for Kevin to do the same.

"Come on McKinley," he whispered. "Let's get you inside."

The rest of the Yukon journey could be summed up with one word; 'silence' it was widely agreed on that _Bladez in the Wylde_ would be ending very soon, but they also knew that failing to complete the episode would be a problem as well.

It was a surprise that Steve hadn't been left in the snow after the nights rage. Not that it hadn't been suggested and highly supported, but Connor had insisted that nothing good would come of it and defended that all of the equipment belonged to Steve anyways.

Even more surprisingly, the Yukon episode turned out to run very smoothly after Steve finally ended up doing work, no matter how reluctantly. He kept all of his opinions to himself and let the show run it's course, eating any and all "exotic" foods they found along the way.

It wasn't until the night after Chris called "Cut!" on the last scene that they really sat down and discussed what was next.

"We can't just make an announcement that the show's been cancelled and leave it at that?" Poptarts suggested as he reached across the hotel coffee table for a bowl of popcorn they'd popped.

"Yeah and why don't we just put up a sign for US weekly to follow us around for the next five years huh?" James snapped.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Guys" Connor said. But nobody seemed to hear him.

For the past hour, they had been discussing the future of the show in a Canadian hotel room. Kevin and Connor were sitting the bed, Poptarts and Arnold were a loveseat and Chris, James, Schrader and Davis were packed into the couch. Steve was munching on an apple on the floor.

The room was the penthouse suite of a ski lodge that had been originally meant for Connor and Steve but after the incident, the two weren't allowed alone together. Because the room had been payed for by Steve, they let him keep his room and Connor hadn't wanted to cause trouble by trying to find another room for him, Kevin just stayed in the room with the ex-couple. It was extremely awkward but it was the easiest way to lodge, and it was only for one night.

At the moment, the suite was packed for the big vote on the future of Bladez.

So far nothing that seemed even minorly usable had come up. Until a voice from the corner spoke up.

"Can I suggest something?" Steve drawled.

"NO!" everyone yelled.

"Gosh," he leaned against the wall and took another bite out of his apple. "Fine then."

"No wait…" Connor spoke. "Let's hear Steve's idea."

His words took a little while to register with the others as this was the first time that Connor had spoken about or in a roundabout way to Steve since he had stood up for himself.

"Thank you Connor," Steve smiled, earning himself several glares from around the room. "Well, if I were one of you guys, which I am… I would do one last special episode and just finish the show then."

For a moment everyone was silent.

"Shit, that's not a bad plan." Schrader said from the couch.

The crew nodded in agreement and yet again, Connor spoke.

"Any ideas for the special?"

"Oh I don't know about that. You were always the brains in our relationship." He shot back.

"Oh really," Connor said shortly.

"Oh yeah, you had loads of good ideas. Like the time we were in Paris and those people were following us an- oh wait no that was my idea… yeah, no I'm the smart one"

"Blade…" Church warned.

But Connor didn't seem the least bit offended. In fact, it seemed that he had tuned him out and was furiously thinking.

"No, I'm not kidding, McKinely is really not tha-"

"Shut up." Kevin snapped. "Connor, what are you thinking."

Connor looked up hopefully. "I know what we can do for our special."


	11. Chapter 11

**So this is the first thing I've posted in forever. But (if I remember correctly) then this is the first chapter from Connor's point of view. Enjoy my trash :)**

Connor looked around the beautiful Charles de Gualle airport and grinned wider than he had in ages. He was no architecture nerd, but he'd always found the futuristic exterior and cool web of elevators that made the place so unique, fascinating.

"I still can't believe I'm in Paris." Kevin spoke in a voice filled with awe from beside him.

Connor turned to see the entire crew standing beside him and his smile grew wider. They all looked odd wearing clothes that were actually semi fashionable instead of for-comfort outdoors clothes, especially Kevin.

Since they'd had plenty of time before they had to be at their next location, Connor had insisted that the crew make a stop at the nearest mall and buy clothes fit for the city of fashion, light, and love. It had been cheesy and stupid even for him but they all needed something to take their mind off the bombshell that had been dropped on them.

In his eyes, Kevin looked the best out of all of them. He had dressed up his natural good looks with a blazer that was in a particularly nice shade of black and dark pants. He had even put on a clean (for once) white button-up underneath. The greatest part of his look was the radiant smile that made the fancy clothes pale in comparison.

Connor didn't consider himself a hopeless romantic by any means, but it was hard not to have even the tiniest of crushes on Kevin Price at the look of him.

His excitement only made him look even better and as they got out of customs and stepped on one of the unique elevators, Connor got another chance to see Kevin's childish euphoria.

"Did you know they have a Disneyland here?" he enthused, jumping down one of the moving steps.

"Yes I did." Connor laughed softly. "I've been there."

Kevin's eyes widened. "Really? Oh man! I can't believe Church got the studio to allow this! I mean, your plan was really great! Man, this is almost as great as Orlando." Kevin chattered on excitedly.

Connor smiled again. He was glad that the broadcasters had liked his idea for a special and was relieved that they didn't ask too many questions as to why they needed to cancel the show so quickly.

"A reverse-nature survival episode will blow them away," Kevin's continuous narrative brought Connor back to the moment.

Yes, when Steve had been trying to get at him with a memory of one of the times they had been in Paris, Connor had gotten an idea.

He wasn't quite sure why Steve had tried to use that particular memory to hurt him. It was actually one of the better times of their relationship. Steve had been filming a different show in the area and had had a day off. The two decided to venture into the city instead of staying in the hotel room. They spent the day seeing the sights and shopping and just having a good time until photographers had seen them and started to follow them. This led to a three hour long game if hide n' seek in the city until Steve finally found a way to the countryside. They ended up spending the night in a small bed-n-breakfast and had come back the next day to a frantic manager, but feeling refreshed.

Connor had taken the experience and modeled it into a suitable episode, worthy of the high quality ones that it was following. The synopsis of the episode was: Steve goes into Paris and has to try and find his way out. Of course, they would add in ways to make it more interesting later and wouldn't need to use the whole crew, but it was the best idea they'd had so far.

When they finally got to their fancy hotel, Hotel Plaza Athenee, a plan was made for the next day. To maximize mobility, only James and Poptarts would go with Steve and film. Everyone but Connor, Kevin, and Steve had made plans to take a drive through the non-city area the day before they would need to film. That left Connor and Kevin to have to see the sights just the two of them As there would be no way any of the very protective crew would allow the ex-couple to be near each other for an extended time.

Connor would be lying if he didn't say that he was a little excited.

The next day came fairly quickly. The three that were going sightseeing left fairly early to rent a car and not long after the camera crew followed them to scout out the route they would be taking and making plans.

To be honest, he was surprised they were letting him walk alone. Even though Steve would not be a problem anymore, the crew remained on constant guard and sheparded the two away from each other.

But nevertheless, at around 9:00, Connor was finally ready go on his first "date" since Steve… sort of… even though it wasn't actually a date, he wanted to impress Kevin. The brunette might not even be gay for Christ sake! But it was just the two of them… and they were going to be hanging out the entire day in the city of love…

Connor walked toward the lobby where he knew Kevin would be waiting with nervous anticipation. Price never took as long as Connor to get ready and today would be no exception. Sure enough, the brunette was standing self-consciously.

What did take Connor off guard was Kevin's drastic change in appearance. The normally slightly messy dresser had apparently attempted to clean up a little. He was sporting a long sleeve button down which he had no doubt managed to get from one of the elders from the mission in Uganda and some less tattered jeans (which Connor inwardly cringed at, as they would immediately label the two tourists) and some almost tasteful shoes. It appeared, as Connor got within smelling distance, which he had even put on some sort of cologne.

The scent wasn't bad, but Connor kind of had liked Kevin's usual smell. He started to reprimand himself for having less than platonic thoughts but then realized that as of now they were both completely available. But if he had tried so hard for their day out maybe Kevin liked him more than he usually let on.

Kevin was the first to speak of the two.

"Hi." He ineptly said.

Connor gave a small, awkward wave, not sure of what to say.

"So it's just you and me?" Price asked. If Connor didn't know any better he would've said that there was a hint of hope in his tone even though they both knew that there was no one else coming.

"Yeah." Connor affirmed, dragging his figers through his hair and suddenly regretting having not showering this morning.

"Good." Kevin nodded and then immediately blushed.

"Uh huh."

"Well…"

"IS there anything you wanted to see?" Connor desperately attempted conversation

"Is there anything _you_ wanted to see?"

"I've been here before."

"Oh."

"We can try and find some food."

"Okay." Kevin quickly said, relief clear in his voice. "Where do you want to eat?"

"We can walk and try to find somewhere?"

"Spontaneous, I like it."

They both let out a sigh of liberation at finally having something to do and quickly made their way across the lavish lobby and past the doormen and into the city. In a much more comfortable silence.


	12. Chapter 12

The silence of the not-couple walking continued for some time but it never actually grew awkward.

Connor spent his part of the journey-to-nowhere examining every sign on both sides of the street, determined to find a suitable place to eat.

It wasn't a date, he reminded himself dutifully, but everything HAD to be perfect about this day. He needed to show Kevin... And himself... That he was fine and fully capable of functioning after what had happened.

Kevin almost (_almost_) forgot that he wasn't alone. He'd grown up in a sheltered household who believed that the American way was not only the best way but the only way. Even though he'd spent the last month globe trotting, the new sites never got old to him. And now he was in Paris, one of the most famous cities in the world and French was filling his ears along with car horns and bike wheels and expensive shoes.

Of course recent occurrences had put a damper on the experience. Though he had been putting on a kind face for Connor's sake, who obviously was humiliated by the meltdown of his dratted ex, Kevin was still very much filled with dark hate for the smarmy d-bag that was Steven Blade. The scene in Canada played through his head and caused Kevin to clench his fists. It wasn't fair that such an awesome, kind, special guy had to go through that!

Connor McKinley wasn't totally oblivious to his companions thoughts having not been born yesterday but he, like Kevin, faked normality. And focused on finding a good restaurant to eat at. Most of the spots along the river were very pricy, not that this was an issue, but didn't have the special thing he was looking for that made the price tag worth it.

As his eyes scanned the streets they detected a flash of metal in the sunlight which normally wouldn't mean anything in such a big city, cameras, cars, and jewelry were in an abundance here. But something told Connor to look again and when he did, his heart clenched. Fame was a bitch sometime and it was just his luck that it was biting him in the ass right now

"Kevin," he broke the silence with a calm but budget tone.

The brunette immediately snapped to Connor who inwardly groaned. So much for incognito.

"What!" Kevin whispered loudly.

"What's wrong are you okay?!"

Connor kept his eyes straight ahead even though the other boy was whipping his head side I side furiously to detect any threat.

"Don't look now but there's a man with a camera at your 10 O'clock."

McKinleys groan only deepened as Kevin "master of stealth" Price turned his head 180 degrees to lock eyes onto a man standing out from the crowd carrying a huge camera. He appeared to be snapping pictures of the Siene but the the device was pointed suspiciously at the Price-McKinley duo.

"I said DONT look you... Oh never mind... Idiot..." Connor spat. This wasn't how he wanted this day to go at all.

"Is that guy... Taking pictures of...us?" Kevin whispered in awe.

"It would appear so."

"Cool... Oh wait no... Not cool... What do we do?"

"Follow my lead" Connor grabbed Kevin's hand and pulled him into a mob of people, trying his best to blend the two into the Parisian college kids who were laughing about exams or something. It turns out, hiding is hard to do when you're in a forgein country that you aren't dressed for.

Once they reached a crosswalk, Connor yet again yanked Kevin, This time to the left.

"Let's get away from the river and into the side streets" he huffed. Sitting in a tent all day didn't do wonders for your cardiovascular it turned out.

Once safely across the street Kevin started to slow but a pull from his friend and he knew that the chase was no longer over. A look over his shoulder altered him that the one man had become 3 and they all were ferociously capturing the couple.

"This is bad, this is so bad," Connor gasped as he gave a final yank pulling Kevin into another skinny side road.

They briskly made their way for a good 10 minutes before finally stopping at a seemingly random cafe.

"Thank god I found it." Connor sighed and he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The shop was nothing special, a glass case displayed pastries that you could probably find everywhere and the place had the finely aged look that made the city stand out. There wasn't anyone in the front but a rustle behind a door and the hiss of an espresso machine let them know they hadn't barged into a closed cafe.

The only real feature that stood out was the pictures. There were dozens hung on the wall, in frames that rested on counters and shelves. They weren't the typical "Guy Fieri was here" pictures. They were candids that looked like they'd each been lovingly taken by the owner of the cafe.

Entranced by the snapshots, Kevin forgot he was supposed to be running for a second and went over to a wall to look at them. A splash of auburn on one of the photos caught his eye and he moved towards it, calling over to his companion.

"Hey Con is this yo-"

"Connor McKinley, est-ce vous?"

Kevin turned around to see an woman of about 80 appear from what was probably the kitchen door.

Without missing a beat Connor's face lost some of its tiredness and lit up as he replied

"Salut Madame Leroy!"

The lady grinned and stepped out from behind the counter going to give McKinley a kiss on the cheek.

"Ça va?" She said warmly.

"Tout va bien" Connor replied. At this point Kevin's jaw was on the floor.

"Connor... French... You..."

His friend like. Back and smiled.

"Oui... I mean... Yes..."

Kevin shook his head in disbelief. How did this stuff keep happening?

Connor turned back to the woman whom he obviously knew well and Kevin got annoyed at his lack of understanding and went back to the pictures.

Sure enough the auburn hair that had caught his eye was a photo of a Connor McKinley who didn't appear a day older than 19. He looked so different from the man who was currently blabbering in perfect French. Aside from his baby face he wore an expression that gave off the air that he was ready to conquer the world in his cheap looking grey sweater and dark pants. He was perched on a shopping cart in some grocery store. His hair was the same color but was cut styled in a "cool" look matching his face.

"What the hell..." He muttered, grazing his finger over the photo like it was an alien picture from a different universe which it honestly could've been.

"Connor." Kevin repeated, this time less shocked and more confused.

The boy in question looked up quizzically.

"Yes Kevin?" A look of understanding crossed his face as he saw the photo.

"Ha, she kept it!" He mused.

"Yeah..." Kevin said, about ready to explode hfrom confusion. "Who is SHE and why do you know her and why do you speak French and why does she have a picture of you and why do you know French?!"

Connor smiled and fully turned to face Kevin, taking the picture from his hands and examining it. A wistful look crossed his face.

"Sophmore year of college... I made a kind of last minute decision to do a year abroad and Paris was the biggest program meaning it was the cheapest and the only one not full."

Kevin was all ears. This was a rare ever for Connor to open up like this.

"I... Didn't have a lot growing up but u had some money saved and I told myself... I always told myself I'd see the world one day and when I heard about this I just kind of shut up and filled out the paper work and got the visa and went."

Kevin's eyes widened. It hadn't dawned on him that Connor might not always have been fabulously wealthy. His friend still seemed to be back in time with his photo self as he continued.

"This was the best year of my life. I leaned French and made friends with Mrs Leroy here. I used to live in a dorm a block down and always stopped here. She's the reason I didn't fail French."

"So that's how you found this place." Kevin said softly.

Connor nodded before looking up, seemingly realizing the situation.

"I told her that were just stopping in to get away from the cameras" he explained. "Then we'll be on our way. Sorry this isn't a cool river spot but... The foods pretty good! My broke college ass can attest!"

"It's fine." Kevin quickly assured him.

The lunch wasn't fancy, but Kevin loved every second. The food was still really good and he was pretty sure there was some magic in it because Connor's usual tired, beaten down look was giving way to the confident kid in the picture. They talked and talked for what seemed like an hour or so but halfway through a hilarious anecdote of Connor's about the day the picture on the shelf was taken he suddenly stopped and pointed out the small cafe window.

"It's getting late" he said.

Kevin turned around and sure enough the clouds that dotted the perfect day outside were turning pink.

"Oh shit" Kevin said. "They're probably freaking out." He got up and Connor followed suit, reaching into his pockets for money to give to Madame Leroy who turned him down and in perfect English told them 'no payment necessary'

Luckily Connor remembered the area well and they made some turns before finding themselves on a metro with a load of Parisians heading home after a long day of work. Connor and Kevin were smushed together, practically sitting on eachothers laps and when they got off of the metro, basked in the breeze of the night that cooled their sweaty bodies.

"This isn't near the hotel" Kevin said observantly.

"Nope." Connor said. And in a brave gesture grabbed Kevin's arm and pulled him into the streets.

This pull wasn't a "running away from paparazzi" pull. This was a "come on dork lets go"

So Kevin let himself be led until he saw what Connor had brought him to see. And he wasn't let down.

"Oh my god." He whispered as the tall, lit up structure stood before him.

"I know right." Was all Connor said before plopping himself down on the stretch of grass that lay beneath the famous "tour de Eiffel"

In all of Kevin's life he had been left speechless only a few times. The most recent being when he'd seen Connor get slugged by Steve-the memory still gripped him with anger. It seemed that Connor McKinley had a knack for leaving him speechless. But being randomly taken to the Eiffel freaking tower at night after a day of spontaneousness was almost too much for the poor camera man to handle.

"I..." He said.

"I know right." Connor repeated.

Seeing that Kevin wasn't about to find words soon, Connor decided to fill the silence.

"When I first saw it I was 19 and it was my first day in Paris. I felt that I needed to see it to let myself know that I'd really done it- made it somewhere you know- so I stumbled my way through the metro and found myself here. It doesn't ever get more mundane you know. I would come here alone at least 3 times a week just to remind myself why I came. When I started dating... Him"

Kevin's hands clenched at the reminder of who him was but Connor continued

"I only got to see it from inside car windows and I wasn't there for me. I was there for something else. I'm glad that I get to be here with you the first time in back for real."

Kevin was about to respond when something happened. As if some giant magic force had acted upon the famous tower, the lights that were shining so beautiful on it started dancing. Kevin gasped and looked at Connor saying "DO YOU SEE THIS!?"

"It does it every other hour when it's dark" Connor answered not taking his eyes off of the show.

For the next few minutes they sat without words, watching the show that they both knew would never leave their memory. And as quickly as the sparkles came, they disappeared.

Kevin exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"That was beautiful." He breathed.

Suddenly he felt something warm in his hand and looked down realizing that his hand had found Connor's hand during the twinkling lights.

What surprised Kevin was that it.. Felt nice...

'Oh no' was the thought in his head 'I'm falling for him.

A war was raging in Kevin's head and in a way he was fine with him. But if his internal war was Hiroshima, then what happened next was the atomic bomb.

Connor took his free hand and wrapped in around Kevin's head and pulled him in towards himself. Their lips met and even though it was probably 85 degrees outside, Kevin felt the warmth of Connor on his mouth.

It wasn't a long kiss, but it was enough and when the two broke apart they were both out of breath-not from lack of air- but for awe at what they had just done.

Connor looked at Kevin and the brunette felt a blush which wasn't usual this thing. The look on Connor's face didn't say "oh my god what did I do?" It said

"That's right, I like you, LIKE like you"

And in that moment it didn't matter that 4 men were probably tearing up France looking for them, or that Connor still had the remnants of a bruise on his face. All that mattered was the thrill of the day they'd shared.


End file.
